The Endorian Summit
by Ivylore
Summary: The Alliance is on the verge of becoming the New Republic. Han and Leia are still sorting out their relationship in the midst of the chaos.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: All of these characters and the universe that is _Star Wars _belong to George. I'm just having fun. **

Wow. This place has changed...

**Part I**

* * *

Deep within the shadows of the Endor forest, two beings stood and watched the sunset. One was a human male of average height and build for a Core-born human, smooth skinned although silvery strands highlighted his dark hair. His hands were balled into fists, crushed against his thighs, and the forest's insects buzzed ravenously close to his skin as though they could smell his fear. "Will it work?" he asked his companion.

The second being, born of a species that preferred the darkness, hung back in the shadows of a thick perennial evergreen. "It should."

"Should is a word we cannot afford." The human took a sharp breath. "If I am exposed, the New Republic will seek vengeance, swiftly. There can be no mistakes. The Nagai will fall here, once and for all. Saijo will be ours."

* * *

Han Solo leaned against the transparisteel window outside the primary entrance of the senior audience chamber on the massive Calamarian star cruiser _Home One_. Outside, rising fast amidst the stars, were a number of foreign ships, sleek, shiny Liberator-class cruisers, long cylindrical Providence-class carriers and light destroyers. After an hour, Han was poignantly aware of two things. First, despite the many months of planning, it was hard to believe that as of tomorrow, the _Alliance of Free Planet_s would be reborn as the _New Republic_.

Secondly, when an earnest-faced guard stationed outside a Provisional Council meeting said it was 'almost over,' he was randomly yanking a time limit out of thin air.

It was his lucky day when the doors finally swished open. Leia exited first, a vision in a white, sleeveless senatorial gown and her face lit up so beautifully upon seeing him that he moved in and kissed her squarely on the lips.

"Welcome back, General Solo." Leia blushed and lightly cleared her throat.

"Captain Solo." Borsk Fey'lya's tone dripped with sarcasm behind her. "Are you here to present a briefing?"

"No." If he hadn't been all that conscious of the fact that he was unshaven and wearing rumpled clothing, he was now.

"No Borsk," Leia answered smoothly. "We weren't even expecting the General until tomorrow." Graciously, she linked her arm through his and guided him partway down the corridor, away from the exiting council members. "Tomorrow at the _earliest_," she whispered. "Han, you must be exhausted."

"I'm made good time," he lied. Good time, if flying on a dead man's schedule and making seven hyperspace jumps in the space of twenty hours could be classified as such. The three Mon Calamari cruisers that comprised the rest of his fleet were two days behind him, following a much safer and saner route. He could feel dozens of eyes boring holes through them and wondered how many rules of protocol he'd just broken by kissing her. He leaned over and remembered to keep his voice down. "I don't have a code-key for your quarters."

"Oh." Leia gestured to a plain-faced assistant quietly with one hand and squeezed his fingers with the other. Momentarily, she pressed the code-key to her quarters into his hand. "I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to be. The Togorians and Thanosians are disputing rights to their inter-sector trade route and they've asked for the issue to be settled before the summit." She shoved a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "It's a last minute request, but they've agreed that they'll abide by the Provisional Council ruling until each side can formally present its claim to the Senate after the summit takes place."

"That sounds like it could go on all night."

"It very well could." Leia's index finger playfully traced a line across the centre of his palm. "You should go make yourself at home, relax."

"I will."

Senator Gebnerret Vibrion of Gorman came by to clap Han warmly on the shoulders. "Welcome back General."

"Are they prepared to offer summations?" she asked the elder Senator.

"Yes. They each have a member waiting in the lobby."

"I'll be right there." She could only shrug wistfully at Han and tug her fingers free from his grasp. "I'll be at least an hour."

"I'll be waiting."

After navigating his way through the maze of corridors and lifts toward the upper decks, Han let himself into her quarters. If they were any indication of her evolving status, she was doing very well. They were finer than any she'd had before, even back on the Alliance's flagship. Like most Mon Cal ships, the ceilings were slightly domed and pristine white. The walls were inlayed with veins of an aqueous fluid that resembled seawater. The room had separate sleeping and lounging areas, divided by a partition that was actually a type of freestanding aquatic sculpture. Built into the curve of the viewport, the low bed was designed so that one could lie down and gaze at the stars while drifting off to sleep.

Han draped his jacket over the couch in the lounging area, took off his belt and blaster and set them by the bed. The view was magnificent. Below him was the forest moon of Endor, a greenish-blue orb covered with swirling clouds and oceans. Off in the distance was the Linear Miasma nebula, a long interstellar cloud of crimson ionized gases, a galactic composition, more breathtaking than any work of art created by sentient beings on any habited planet. In every other direction stars and starships twinkled against deep space. With a nostalgic smile, Han remembered that there was nothing as beautiful as a woman's body against the stars.

Then he lay down and thought to himself, _nice bed, nice and soft…_

* * *

"Han?" Her voice was soft, smoky, her hands already working on his belt.

She was sweeter and warmer in the flesh than in his imagination, and that imagination had been in serious overdrive these past few weeks. Han rolled her over and slid into her. She didn't say a word, just opened beneath him, eager and out of breath, her thigh muscles taut and shaking. He felt like a teenager, hurling himself over the edge. Leia clung to his body with surprising strength and dug her nails into his hips so hard the pain snapped at him. She begged him to go faster, and he couldn't stop himself. It was satisfying and dissatisfying, too short, too intense. They lay together panting, not speaking, not letting go, until Leia finally made a muffled sound indicating she couldn't quite breathe.

He dug his elbows into the mattress so as not to crush her. The senatorial dress was shoved obscenely high above her waist. She reached up and stroked his cheek, thoughts and emotions flickering nakedly across her face. Their ability to communicate these past two months had been limited. It had been three weeks since he'd last heard from her, a classified comm sparse on details of the upcoming summit, sparser still on how she was holding up, though the last few words had been poignant enough; _I love you. Don't take too many risks_. Now, aside from a sense of deep contentment, of joy at being with her, he felt freshly awkward. "So how've you been?" Hell, he _sounded_ awkward.

"Good."

Her left knee was drawn back so far he could turn his head and kiss the nape. "These are fantastic quarters."

"I knew you'd like the bed."

"I have _plans_ for this bed." Suddenly he had a need to see all of her, touch all of her, hoped the sense of awkwardness could be stripped away with their clothing, just like that. And the Calamarians kept the _Home _One's temperature and humidity levels to their liking so despite the fact that Leia's quarters had private climate control settings, his back was soaked with sweat. Han rolled her over, and after a few minutes of squirming and garment-tossing, their clothes were hanging off the bed and Leia was investigating his partially healed battle-wounds while he ran his hands over every inch of her bare flesh.

She grazed a fading bruise just below his collarbone with her lips. "What happened here?"

"I wrestled with a native on Ralltir."

"Did you win?"

"I always win." He gathered one breast in his hand and ran his index finger over her nipple.

"That's what I like about you," she said sweetly. "You've always been so modest."

"What else?"

She smiled secretively. "There will be enough ego-stroking in the coming days if you're up to it."

"Congratulations on the summit. You must be thrilled."

"It's overwhelming," she confessed. "Putting this summit together has taken long hours of political networking and every ounce of patience I ever possessed and then some. Turnout will likely exceed our expectations and deplete the Alliance credit reserves."

"I didn't realise we were so close to broke." The Battle of Endor had wiped out nearly a fifth of the Alliance's fleet. It was still in the process of recovering and the recent skirmish with the Nagai hadn't helped matters any. "The fleet is looking better than when I left."

"Borrowed credits, donations and the miracle of Mon Calamari shipyards." Leia eyed him conspiratorially. Her chin was raw from scruff-burn, they'd been kissing so hard. "This didn't come from me, but I wouldn't rush to see if your Generals' stipend has been put into your account."

"Since when are you in charge of budgets?"

"You name it. Budgets. State-dinners. Backroom deals." She un-kinked her legs and climbed off the bed, flicking her thick braid over her shoulder. "Even schmoozing when the occasion calls for it."

"You're a woman of many talents." He lolled back, admiring her while she rustled through the kitchen alcove just off the lounge. He'd remembered the overall image but not the details, like the freckles on the back of her neck, or the crease of her abdomen, the bottom curves of her breasts, soft and relaxed against her ribcage, the sheen on the inside of her thighs that was his seed. He realised the warm glow across her shoulders was a fading tan. "The schmoozing must have been hard for you," he teased. "Where was it?"

"The Lytton Sector."

"You went to Spira without me."

"It was scheduled to coincide with your furlough."

She looked apologetic and beautiful, clad in nothing but the plaited mane of hair, decanting a modest amount of amber wine into a glass. Han's heart ached a little.

"You were supposed to be there with me but you were redeployed to Ralltir. It was beautiful but-"

"Don't tell me." Han covered his ears like a child. "Who was the bigwig?"

Leia returned with a Gizer for him and glass of wine for herself. "Finis Taria." She extended her goblet and clinked it against his ale. "And I was going to say it wasn't the same without you."

"I've never heard of him."

"That's because he goes by his mother's name. His father was Chancellor Valorum."

"The last Chancellor before Palpatine." Han took a long draught of the pale blue ale. "There's a family with some money behind it."

"The summit needs to be official. Official takes money."

"And brings it in. Ah." That exclaimed the recent rush to organize a formal government. "How many of the worlds coming have cold, hard cash on hand."

"You'd be amazed." Leia tipped her chin toward the growing number of starcruisers outside her window. "You haven't noticed?"

"Nothing amazes me any more."

"Really?" Leia arched an eyebrow, sipping from the clear glass.

"All right, except you." He dragged her naked and grinning into his lap. "How long until you turn back into a diplomat?"

"Fifteen hundred hours, fleet time."

"I'm going to keep you in this bed recalibrating for every minute until then."

"Recalibrating?" Leia burrowed deeper into his lap, and her chilled glass burned cold against his shoulder. "Is that a promise?"

"Absolutely."

* * *

They didn't get much sleep after that. When he tried to close his eyes, Leia was suddenly shaking him awake. She was pale and insisted that he bring her down to the Endor immediately.

(_We have to go now. Please_.)

_It's morning_, he told a groggy Chewbacca when they crept onboard the _Falcon_. It was none of his co-pilot's business that he would ferry his lover to the surface on a moment's notice. They arrived before dawn and watched the sun rising through the treetops from the _Millennium Falcon's_ onramp. As if on cue, Luke arrived to meet them just as the sky changed from a dingy washed-out grey to a buttery gold.

Leia stretched her gaze over to Luke anxiously. She was holding her steaming mug of caf concentrate between her cupped hands as though it were a precious gemstone. "It happened again."

"I know."

Han had the distinct impression that he'd tumbled completely out of the loop while he was away. "What happened?" he asked.

For a moment, the twins both regarded him as though they'd been interrupted. Finally, Luke said, "A movement in the Force."

"Related to the summit?"

"No." Luke shook his head. "This is leftover from the battle."

"Six months ago?"

Luke nodded. "The fleet is in orbit above Endor. Periodically it's passing through the area where the_ Death Star _was destroyed."

"I thought debris from the explosion was in orbit too?" He hadn't seen any on the flight down.

"Not in the past."

"Could you be less cryptic?"

"The coordinates of the explosion, where the _Death Star_ was adjacent to Endor, that's a fixed location," Luke explained. "In the past, anyways."

"I need more caf for this."

Leia set her concentrate down, stood and lightly touched his shoulder. "Black?"

"Do you know how to work the distiller?"

"I've seen you do it. You two catch up."

Han rubbed his eyes and yawned. "Don't mind me. It's bedtime according to my schedule."

"I hear you're two for two as a strike team leader."

Han managed a weary grin. The last part of his mission, on Ralltir, had been a piece of ryshcate compared to the Endor mission. A New Republic strike team had disabled the planet's defensive ion cannon and power generators, allowing a task force of three Mon Calamari Star Cruisers to enter the system unhindered and secure it. The generator station had only been manned by two dozen Imperials, most of whom had surrendered like naughty frightened children when they realised they were under siege. "Disabling the Empire's old defensive systems and shield generators is my new career. Now, if you want to tell my why she was so spooked-"

A breeze rustled through the tree canopy. "The entire area is tainted with the Dark side. I can feel it, but …" Luke cleared his throat. "She's seems to be more sensitive to it than I am."

"Oh." Han scratched the back of his head. "Why is that?"

"I don't know."

"But you sense it too?"

"Yes."

"That doesn't add up. You're the Jedi."

Luke scuffed his boot-heel through a pile of dingy grey-coloured scrubworts. "I know."

_Damn it_, Han thought. Trying to get either of them to talk was like prying wryli nuts from their casings. "Should I be worried about this? I mean, I'm the one trying to have a relationship with her."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Just trying?"

_More than trying_, Han amended silently. Usually at this point, he and Leia were still on the nearest horizontal surface. Instead, he was admiring a sunrise and dealing with Force-related business. Not that he had anything against sunrises, but once you'd seen one on the lush resort world of Maramere, you'd seen them all. "Anyway, you're the Force expert, not me."

"You know how some people are afraid of spiders or traveling at lightspeed?"

"She's developed a phobia of the Force?"

"Something like it." Luke scratched at his chin. "She's panicking every time she feels a tremor in the Force, and the fact that this particular tremor was in all likelihood created by the Emperor's death…" Luke dropped his hand unconsciously to the lightsaber at his hip, as if reassuring himself that he was armed. "It could just be an overreaction after what happened on Bonadan. She's more attuned to the Force now than before the trip with you."

Two months previous, Leia had accompanied Han to the Corporate Sector world of Bonadan. While visiting the old Alderaanian Embassy there, she'd had a terrifyingly vivid vision of the _Falcon_ being incinerated by a sweeper storm in the desert plains. Subsequently, the Tionese Ambassador, who'd been after Leia all along to avenge his brother's death, had captured them both. They'd been separated, but with the help of two Shistavanen warriors Han had managed to find her and rescue her.

The _Millennium Falcon_ had been offworld at the time, and Han had had to retrieve it. Only when he neared the planet had Leia contacted him and told him of her vision. He'd heeded her warning and not brought his ship down near the surface. With the help of the Alderaanian Embassy, she'd gotten herself and an entire refugee family of Shistavanen wolfmen off Bonadan to a safer rendezvous point. Only later had he discovered that the sweeper storms were planetary weapons, capable of tearing any ship out of the skies, and that his ship had been marked for destruction by the planetary government.

Her warning had saved his life.

"Well, I can see how that would shake her up," Han said soberly. And if Leia had been actively seeking contact to the Force to save his life, it made sense that she had returned to Endor with her senses wide open.

Luke peeked toward the _Falcon's_ entrance. "It may also be that my father's presence is strong here."

"That would drive her away from Endor," Han pointed out bluntly, "not lure her to it."

"Hypothetically, yes."

_Hypothetically, my ass_. Han wondered if Luke had any idea that his sister woke up screaming silently in her sleep. At the time on Bonadan, he'd thought Leia was overreacting too. Now he knew better but Luke didn't seem to be taking it very seriously. "What has she been flying," he wondered.

"They gave her a personal shuttle," Luke answered. "She has her own pilot-slash-bodyguard on call at all times."

"Huh." That news came with an unexpected jolt of irrational jealousy. Of course, she needed her own shuttle and pilot, especially now that they were working on different lines. And with the summit taking place, it only made sense that they would assign her some sort of security.

"But you know Leia," the Jedi was saying. "She never comms him and always insists on flying it herself and he's put in a written complaint requesting an assignment transfer."

That part was funny. Han was laughing when the onramp vibrated beneath footsteps. "Nobody can make caf that fast," Han groaned. "What did you do?"

"It's not my fault," she began. "The distiller is blinking and it won't stop."

* * *

Together, they walked nearly a kilometre from the Bright Tree Village base, away from the clearing that housed the Millennium Falcon and nearly three dozen other Alliance vessels and the bunkers that had been assembled over the past few months. All around them were blumbush and rokna trees, fuzzynettle and free-palms, and many more species with wide deciduous leaves that arched toward the skies like the Great Tree revered in Ewok legends. Every so often, they would pass a section of tall grasses that spread apart and lay down as though a mysterious entity had made its bed.

"This must be the Yarlubb," Leia guessed when they came to a river. They'd been on a neatly trodden path of trampled grasses and fronds, less than a metre wide that looked as though it could have been made by humanoids but had probably been made by something with more than two legs. "That means we're south of the village."

They took their boots off, rolled up their pant-legs and waded in amidst the watermoss where it was shallow. They wandered down around a bend in the river until they came across a pocket of kata-wata ferns. The shrub-like fern served as a hiding place for many of the moon's smaller forms of life, and today, a hiding place for not so small forms of life, for lovers in search of privacy. Han located an open area along the bank and lumbered out of the water. Leia leaned over and dragged her fingers slowly over the water's surface. The water was so close to the air temperature that it felt more like a caress than liquid. She took long deep breaths until the spicy scent of the perosa trees pricked her sinuses. She liked the squish of sediments and mosses beneath her bare feet, of completely being in contact with living things. She liked the idea of being completely alone, just the two of them. Their relationship was like a fragile clump of cells, a new life, dividing and growing in the womb that was their time alone. It had been six months since the Battle of Endor, and since then they'd spent less than ten shifts together, including the trip to the Corporate Sector. When Han was away, his absence wore at her like chronic physical pain. This past stretch had been the longest.

She watched Han withdraw a blanket and the bottle of berry wine from his knapsack. "You think of everything."

"I'm working on it." Han leaned back on one elbow, grinning crookedly. He patted the ground beside him impatiently, looking distinctly Corellian with his closely shorn hair. It had grown back since the close shave in the Corporate sector, but the look still made him appear more dangerous than scruffy.

She sloshed her way out of the water and saw that he had laid the blanket down inside the hanging ferns so that they could draw them closed. She'd missed the feel of his hands beneath her clothes, of his hands on her bare skin, missed making love. They had so much lost time to make up and so little opportunity. She stepped back into her boots and went to him, legs weak. "You have no idea how much-" she began.

"I do," he finished, extending his hand. "You don't need to say it."

She lowered herself into his lap and kissed his not-so-recently-shaven face warmly. He began rubbing her calf where her pant-leg was bunched up above her boot, her feet shoved in haphazardly after wading in the river. "About this morning…"

"I get it." Han began un-knotting her hair so that he could run his fingers through it. "Luke brought me up-to-date. Don't worry. It takes more than that to rattle me."

"I didn't mean to interrupt our time together."

Han shrugged cheerfully. "We're alone now, right?"

They switched positions. She lay down on the blanket, Han lay lengthwise against her, and they fit so well together she didn't care about anything else. For the first time in a long time, she felt relaxed, unhurried, and well… drowsy. Han rubbed at her neck and she felt herself dissolving into the ground. She was on the verge of drifting off to sleep when she heard a rustling behind her. Han's hand stiffened on the back of her neck, and then she heard a distinct click by her leg. Leia twisted around, started, and saw a man with his knife drawn. Han had his blaster half-drawn from his holster and it wasn't set for stun. With a jerk, she launched herself from Han's arms.

"_Don't_! He's with the delegation. Please put the knife away."

The stranger slipped the knife back into its pouch. The Nagai, as a people, were frightening to most mainstream humans. Coal-black hair grew straight up from the roots. They were pale and angular, with long pointed ears. This one proudly wore Tehk'la Blades, small serrated knives, like jewellery. A spider web of silvery scars formed a disfiguring web around his right eye. "I was out for a walk. I heard sounds. I thought someone was in danger."

"There's no danger." Leia prayed the Nagai wouldn't recognize a human blush. "Your… um… delegation must have arrived early."

"We arrived this morning."

"I hope the facilities provided for you are satisfactory."

"Primitive, but acceptable, yes."

"If you're here with the delegation you're a ways from the village," Han said coldly.

"I'm making a perimeter check."

"Our own security is on full alert," Leia interjected.

"I prefer to make such evaluations for my own." The Nagai stepped toward the wall of kata-wata ferns. He took one more step and vanished.

"If he can find his way through that," Leia mumbled, "he must have an impeccable sense of direction."

Han looked completely dumbfounded. "We're just letting him _go_? The _delegation_? The _Knives_ have a delegation?"

"Nagai," Leia corrected firmly. "A lot has happened since you were last here."

"They tried to restart the Wookiee slave trade on Kashyyyk," he said bluntly. "They kidnapped Wookiees from a village near to where Chewbacca was raised. Distant relatives of his are _still_ missing."

"I know."

"Don't forget about what they did on Iskalon and Zeltros and their plans for Endor. That attack was only three months ago!"

She nodded.

"They've been invited here to officially be part of the New Republic?"

"Han, it's not the same as when you left."

"Chewbacca-"

"Chewbacca understands." Leia looked imploringly at him and brushed strands of grass from the seat of her pants. She checked to make sure her clothing wasn't in a complete state of disarray and thanked the stars that they hadn't been doing anything more. For the time being, any private interludes into the Endor forest would have to be postponed until after the summit. "The delegation from Kashyyyk sat in on all discussions and granted its approval. We wouldn't have invited them otherwise."

"They can't be trusted."

"They're being watched very closely."

"Some security." Han pointed towards the kata-wata ferns and shook his head.

"Luke's in charge of security," Leia said.

"This is how the new government is going to do it, huh? We'll invite our enemies in through the front door so they can kill as many of us as possible while we're handing out hors-oeuvres." Han tightened his jaw. "No thanks. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'd rather have dinner with a Sarlaac."

Leia set her hand on his arm and felt tense, bunched up muscles twitching beneath her palm. "Han, this time they came for our help."

"Maybe I'm not buying it."

"They've suffered – we've all suffered. They were driven off their homeworld three hundred years ago and have been fighting to survive ever since. That they're willing to change now, to join us and set aside their love of battle in the hopes of a real future, with peace…" Leia shook her head resolutely. "If we're going to be a successful government, we need to remember how it was before the war, that everything doesn't need be a battle; that war often only leads to more war."

"Spoken like a true diplomat."

"I _am_ a diplomat."

"I think you should be a little less diplomatic considering what they've done this past year."

Leia sighed and averted her face. He didn't understand. And he wouldn't. She said quietly, "If you fire at them you will only make them stronger."

"Wait?" Han rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on," he bellowed elaborately. "You've permitted the Nagai to come based on your vision on Bonadan?"

Leia crouched and adjusted the cuffs of her pant-legs so that they fell straight over her boots. "You don't know how long I've been searching myself, trying to understand what it means."

"Lucky for them."

"Han, you weren't with me in the Trenwyth system," she replied sharply. "They're human. They have _good_ within them. They deserve a chance."

"Right." Han stared above his head and gritted his teeth. "Well so much for our afternoon alone."

"I'm sorry too," Leia sighed. She picked up the berry wine, worked the cap off and had an idea. It wasn't a new idea. She'd thought of it earlier but managed to bite her tongue until now. She tried to keep her voice sounding casual. "Knowing that you'd save me from attackers in the Endor woods is romantic. Admiral Ackbar is insisting I keep a member of security around me at all times…" She shrugged. "Since my current security member wants to resign, the position is open."

The corner of his mouth lifted. "Are you asking me to be your bodyguard?"

"There are many more exciting things you could be doing but I thought you'd want an assignment that meant you could stay close to me."

"Don't pretend to be so pragmatic." The lines around Han's mouth were softening. "This is a very clever way of getting me dress up and go to all of these events with you."

"Maybe I'm pretending to be pragmatic." Leia smiled to herself - she did love the way he looked when he was all dressed up. "Just a little. But if it's not you, it's going to be whoever Ackbar appoints."

"Hey, that's not fair."

"I know." Leia sniffed the bottle and smelled vinegar. It didn't surprise her and it did. It seemed as if the Battle of Endor had been only days ago and Han had just been trying to get her to relax on a pile of cushions in the storage compartment on the _Falcon_. "Han?"

"What?"

"I don't think this has aged very well."

"That figures." He closed his hand around the bottle and pried it from her hands.

"We can go back to the _Falcon_," she suggested.

"I'm not in the mood any more. Besides," he went on, restless, repacking the slender bottle of wine they would never drink. "I think we'd better find your brother and discuss his definition of security."

* * *

The Alliance outpost on Endor was bustling with activity. Dozens of ground crews were unloading amenities from supply ships and reloading them on repulsor sleds so that they could be delivered to the adjoining Bright Tree Village. The village, most recently the home of the Ewoks (who had temporarily relocated to their southern hunting grounds), had been expanded and more than tripled in size. Now, it consisted of three levels of hubs, enclaves with thatched-roof cottages built around common areas. They were ideal for offering the delegations privacy. Functional, multi-species friendly refresher stations had been built, and cooking stations fully installed. Each hub was connected to one or more other hubs by suspended bridges and knotted rope ladders that joined the three levels. At the center of the lowest level was the newest addition to the village, a spacious platform made from freshly lumbered native hardwood, reinforced with stilts driven deep into the forest floor. It was there that the first Senate session of the New Republic was being held.

All three of them sat around Luke's desk inside his decidedly makeshift office. Threepio stood off to the side, sorting a pile of data-discs and clearance tags.

"I met with Shin-Kai this morning and granted him permission to survey the vicinity," Luke said matter-of-factly. "He's the head of their security team."

Leia folded her hands together so tightly her knuckles went white. Some key Alliance members had wanted to hold the summit on the Home One itself, but Leia and Mon Mothma both thought it was important that Endor serve as the staging ground. Now she wasn't sure that that had been a good idea. The rustic and primitive locale meant security would be difficult to enforce. "It may unnerve the other summit members to know the Nagai are wandering about the Endor forest unsupervised. It will undoubtedly unnerve High Command if they become aware of it. The Nagai may be here by invitation but this is a military base. There have to be boundaries."

"Boundaries will only lead to an air of distrust, and many of them already _don't_ trust us. I'm doing my best to assuage their concerns before the proceedings begin." Luke spread his hands. "Besides, they weren't anywhere near the command center, just scoping out the area around the village."

She leaned forward, wondering if she was just as paranoid as Han. Deep in her heart, she believed the Nagai wanted change. But if she ignored her innermost feelings and went by precedent, they might be facing another war on Endor. One that could destroy the New Republic during its first days, while it was as unsteady on its feet as a newborn bantha cub. "What else have you sensed?"

"They're nervous. For all they know they were lured here by invitation so the Alliance of Free Planets could take revenge upon them."

"I'm nervous," Han grunted. "I think we should round them up and escort them off-planet before they slit our throats while we're sleeping."

"Han, honestly," Leia seethed under her breath. "Sometimes you have about as much depth as a Gamorrean."

"Others call it common sense." He went to stand and banged his knee on the lip of the low desk. "Ow!"

"Perhaps the lucksprites are displeased with you," Threepio said matter-of-factly.

"Lucksprites?" Han grimaced. "Is he out of his circuits?"

"No, I am not out of my circuits," Threepio replied indignantly. "According to the Ewoks, lucksprites mete out bad and good luck to the moon's inhabitants. Perhaps you have done something to displease them."

"I wonder what that could be," Luke quipped lightly.

"Funny," Leia said. "Very funny. Both of you." She hated to care about time and schedules but she did, all the same. She needed to be back on board the _Home One_ by midday. They were providing all the delegates with a full cycle of rest and relaxation so that they could acclimate to Endorian time. There were tours of the massive ship, and tours of the fleet planned, and if she could convince Han, a number had expressed an interest in seeing the _Millennium Falcon_ up close. "Look, why don't we just go up to the _Home One_? I do have a lot of work to do before the opening dinner tonight."

"I can't." He managed a tight-lipped grin that had little to do with smacking his kneecap. "I need to work on the power adaptors."

"I guess I'll see you tonight." Leia managed to contain her disappointment, at least in her expression as he headed for the door.

"The Nagai being here – it's really bothering him," Luke said, eyeing her sympathetically.

Feeling emotionally winded, she set her chin in her hand and stared across the command center at his shrinking form. So far, their reunion hasn't gone exactly as planned. "Yes."

"Shouldn't you go after him?"

"That won't help." Han was upset, but he needed to come around on his own terms.

Luke opened his mouth as if to say something, then reconsidered and closed it.

"What?"

"He hates surprises," he blurted out.

She set her palms flat on the desk and pushed slowly upward. "He's Corellian," she said, as if that explained it all.

"No." Luke cleared his throat. "I mean, he hates them from you."

_To be continued… _


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to everyone reading and those of you dropping by to comment!**

**I forgot to mention that this story is loosely based on (and contains spoilers for) the events in the Marvel Star Wars Comic series, volumes 91 – 107. **

**Part 2**

* * *

"_The birth of the New Republic not only marks the end of the Empire, it marks the beginning of a new era, one of peace and of hope..._"

Leia Organa delivered her speech to an audience of nearly one thousand. Torches twinkled like fireflies throughout the upper levels of Bright Tree Village and cast soft, undulating shadows across the crowd of delegates. The Senate Platform had eight levels of gently descending decks that permitted everyone an unobstructed view of the sunken central stage and podium. Breaks in the decks allowed for clearances to the suspended bridges and rest areas for delegates to relax in between sessions.

Watching from the topmost deck, Han felt distanced and proud of her all at once. From afar, she was radiant in her gold clingsilk dress. The gown had little in the way of sleeves, pieces of silk clung like vines to her shoulders and upper arms and Han couldn't say how the fabric was bunched and gathered, but the end effect was intoxicating. This was who she was, the person she had dedicated her life to being before the war. But _this _woman, had her previous life continued along its chosen path, would never had had occasion to relax in seedy cantinas, to fly madcap missions in his jury-rigged ship, fallen asleep sitting up with her head on her shoulder in bloodstained clothes, having not slept or eaten in almost two days. This woman might never have known Darth Vader as her blood-father, might never have forced to make choices that resulted in excruciating, measureless loss, might never have known she was the latent carrier of an incalculable power that secretly terrified her.

Doman Beruss, Corellian senator and member of the Provisional Council, stood beside him. She smiled tartly. "If it weren't for the rumours and last night General, I'd almost believe this was sheer coincidence."

It took Han a moment to follow along and then he remembered his new security badge. And kissing Leia on the mouth outside the audience chamber on the _Home One_. "We're not hiding anything," he said dryly. That was true, to an extent. They'd given up on sincere discretion after Leia had hightailed it to the Corporate Sector with him. That mission had effectively done away with any doubts people had about their status as a couple.

"Of course not." Doman Beruss smiled, and laugh-lines enveloped her green eyes. A skilled politician, she was known for being down-to-earth and brutally blunt - she'd once told an Imperial senator from Esseles that his foul breath was encouraging her to vote against him during joint Corellian-Esselian trade negotiations. "Watch your footsteps, Han. I hear whispers." She twirled her index finger in the general direction of the assembled delegates. "There are a few people present who believe their lives revolve around telling everyone else how to live. But I think your woman has a mind enough of her own to tell them to go to blazes."

Han rolled his eyes toward the tree canopy, then down toward the center deck. Leia had made her closing statements and Mon Mothma was preparing to take the bare wooden podium. Despite himself, he had to admit the summit's opening reception had a magical, welcoming feel to it, with none of the pomp and circumstance the Empire was so fond of, none of the exaggerated solemnity he remembered from holovids of the Old Republic proceedings when he was a kid. The forest moon practically hummed with the babbling of universal translators and voxboxes. He managed to change the topic by making general inquiries. Fifteen minutes later, he was fully briefed on the most recent political shenanigans back on Corellia and on the one-hundred and seventy-nine worlds that had sent members to the first summit of the New Republic.

Including the Nagai.

"At first I thought that the Alliance had gone mad," she stated, just as the welcoming speeches were winding down.

"And now?"

"Eventually I began to see all the reasons that this would work."

Han raised his brows.

"Once Senator Organa sets her mind to something she can be very persuasive," Doman explained.

_You don't say_, Han thought restlessly, smoothing the cuffs of his finely tailored uniform. He hated to wear it and was sweating already, but it had been hard to say no after discovering that clingsilk required sheer, barely-there underclothing.

"We have described the Nagai many ways in the past but never as _dishonest_. If they were going to attack, they would simply attack. They have extremely strict codes of honour. They don't believe in infiltration and they don't believe in entrapment."

Despite the fact that representatives from over one hundred worlds, species of all sizes, shapes and colours were present, Han had been studying the pale-faced Nagai delegation across from him for the better part of the evening. There had been a low rise of agitated murmuring in fifty different languages when they arrived, but that had died down after the initial shock wore off. The men all had silver signets tattooed across their throats and looked every inch the war-faring species they were. The women were dressed in deceptively seductive and feminine clothing, but having wrestled with a Nagaian woman once, Han knew they were as stronger as most human males and lethally armed beneath their delicate robes. They also didn't hesitate to shed any cumbersome garments in order to fight. Fighting the urge to reach for his blaster, he asked, both for the sake of conversation and because he was curious, "Were they unanimously accepted?"

"Far from it," Doman replied, in a low voice so that no one else could hear her. "Their invitation scraped by the Provisional Council. Mon Mothma cast the deciding vote. They have their work cut out for them over the next few days. The coalition will be a serious undertaking if the vote passes."

The fine hairs on the back of his neck prickled. Han crossed his arms. "The coalition?"

"Why, against the Tofs." Doman let the rest out in a whisper. "I'm sure Leia has told you."

Han nearly choked on the shock, but at the last moment managed to appear merely grim. Realising that Doman was watching him closely, he quickly said, "Oh yeah. It slipped my mind. I'm smiling about it on the inside."

As the evening continued, the podium was removed and celebratory demonstrations put on by a number of the guest worlds. After the Zeltron flutists and windblowers, the Nagaian senator's bodyguards marched down into the central platform. Armed with razor-sharp swiftcuts, long sabres used in formalized fighting, the two duelled in an elaborate display of gymnastic ability and speed. Han hadn't figured them for the type of culture to settle disputes without slashing one another into a bloody mess. After watching the dynamic performance, he added socially offending them to his 'not-to-do' list, along with kissing princesses outside audience chambers.

Finally, just when Han thought he couldn't take it any more, small groups began making their way across the bridges to retire for the evening while help-staff loaded empty glasses and trays into hard-sided crates. That was his cue to move in and escort Leia out, but guests lingered around the Provisional Council members. Leia was encircled by humans and humanoids alike that all seemed to regard her as a long lost friend. Han had forgotten that this summit would be a reunion of sorts; over one seventy senators from the previously disbanded Imperial Senate were here, but he couldn't tell them apart from the more recently elected ones. The snatches of conversation he overheard all had to do with her father and Alderaan.

"_If only your father could have lived to see this_…."

"_I know that their souls will be at peace now._"

"_Your father would have been proud to see you tonight_…"

Not wanting to interrupt the reminiscing, Han wandered over to a nearby bridge to wait, acutely aware that Finis Taria, dressed in a stylish navy tunic, had assumed a cozy position next to Leia. From what Han had gathered during their brief introduction earlier, the senator was a soft-spoken intellectual with an ideology that was peculiarly Alderaanian, and he had inherited both his famous father's piercing blue eyes and weakness for beautiful women. And from the looks of it, he was full of witty anecdotes that made Leia smile as though they were old friends.

Atmospheres on tropical resort worlds tended to be seductive, and it was easy to lose ones head.

Han was so distracted by the unwelcome thought that he almost missed the ruffled Wookiee pounding across the bridge toward him, bowcaster in hand. Two Sullustan bodyguards tackled him before he could completely clear it, but the Wookiee tossed the pair like ragdolls into the knotted railing. Alliance security personnel immediately turned their blasters on the Wookiee and ordered him to halt. He slowed but didn't stop advancing forward, and one security officer clipped his right leg with a low stun blast.

The Wookiee's thickly accented Shyriiwook finally penetrated Han's consciousness. The guard nearest him prepared to fire again, but Han swung wide, catching his elbow in time so that the blast spun off into the night. "Hang on," he said sharply "He's not here to attack anyone."

Angry Wookiees frightened most species. This one was an older sliver-backed male, fur standing on end, fangs bared. Now he was limping and Han almost felt sorry for him, but then again, one couldn't exactly make a mad dash for the galactic government's receiving line while waving a weapon and think the act would be perceived as non-threatening.

"Something's wrong," Han stated, walking over up to the Wookiee.

"What?" snapped the guard in exasperation, and Han remembered at the last minute that he technically had authority over the guard, who was none-too-pleased about having his shot knocked wild. By then Han had reached the Wookiee. He grabbed one end of the bow and said, in a low, calm voice, "How about we put this away before you get yourself killed?"

The Wookiee understood Basic or he recognized the error of his ways; he cautiously fit the weapon back into its sling and began speaking rapidly. An intruder had broken into the enclave of Wookiee huts and stabbed Councillor Kerrithrarr with a vibroblade. The massive Wookiee diplomat had fought back. The attacker apparently hadn't counted on the fact that Wookiees were more at home on Endor than most any species, as their natural habitat was also a thickly treed forest canopy, and Kerrithrarr had escaped up the tree beside his hut. The assailant took off before anyone could catch him.

By the time Han had managed to translate all this, the remaining senators, aides and bodyguards formed a small crowd around him.

"Do we know who was behind the attack?" Admiral Ackbar asked.

"The assailant used a knife. Pale-faced, dark-haired, tall, thin, wearing leather." Han's voice was flat. "They say he looked Nagai."

"I knew it," Fey'lya exclaimed contemptuously, so excited by the whiff of a scandal that his whiskers twitched uncontrollably. It wasn't hard to figure out how he had voted.

"If the Nagai delegation is being accused of a crime," Leia said quickly, her face blank,

"A New Republic representative needs to be present. I should go."

* * *

Kneeling on a thickly woven mat in the charged atmosphere of the Nagai cottage one hour later, Leia had the chance to wonder if it had been a mistake to visit the delegation in person. Lush, colourful tapestries covered the thatched walls from floor to ceiling and the cottage smelled of fragrant incense and herbal teas, but those were the only items of note that made the cottage feel welcoming. Senator Lusubrin Akikoma, wearing an imposing suit of black form-fitting armour, sat across from her. The sides of his head were shaved and a thick braid ran along the center of his scalp and trailed down his back. His striking concubines, their sinewy bodies wrapped snugly in crimson septsilk robes, were settled onto the conform lounges along the right wall, smiling politely, if somewhat coldly. Several bodyguards, including the one who had happened upon her and Han in the forests that morning, stood attentively on either side of the cottage's only doorway, scowls fixed upon their faces.

In the past, she'd found Lusubrin to be more reasonable and patient than many of the other Nagai, and pleased to hear he'd been appointed senator. Unfortunately, two hours with Alliance security members parading through his hub had left him in a foul mood.

"Senator Lusubrin." Leia made an effort to pretend they weren't all staring daggers at her. "I speak for the whole Alliance when I say that you are welcome here," she assured him.

"When will your security team be leaving?"

"When their preliminary investigation is complete," Leia answered smoothly. According to Kyle Katarn, acting as Luke's assistant security chief, that would be soon. One of Lusubrin's bodyguards had woken up on the forest floor an hour ago missing most of his clothing, with no memory of what happened to him. According to the medic, he was suffering from a concussion and had a small wound on the side of his neck indicating he'd been shot with some form of tranquilizer. His story confirmed what she'd suspected; someone wanted to stir up trouble and derail the upcoming vote. A more thorough debriefing of the bodyguard would have to wait until he'd been cleared by the medical staff onboard the _Home One_. Leia was certain the attack on Kerrithrarr had been staged, and hopefully, their security personnel would be able to discover who was behind it. In the meantime, she had to convince the Nagaian delegation to be patient, and assure them she was on their side. "Senator, we have a dissenter in our midst, someone who hopes to break the bonds we have created. If you stand back and allow our security teams to investigate, if we can discover his or her purpose, then perhaps we can find a means to end this peacefully and quietly."

The scarred warrior cut in sharply, marching to the center of the hut. "You will bring the dissenter to _us_!" he hissed, glowering. "We will not stand by idly if we are accused. We will _fight_."

That was the trouble with a culture that's ideological system was founded on honour and war - there was absolutely no middle ground, no middle course of action. By asking them to stand back, she risked offending them. By waiting, they exhibited weakness. She heard her adoptive father's voice in her head. _Tread carefully_, Bail Organa would say. _There's no room for error here._

"There is more than one way to fight." Leia kept her gaze steady. The warrior was the embodiment of every fearsome trait perpetuated by myths about the Nagai. On the other hand, she was a very stubborn human female who'd stared down a Sith Lord.

"Shin Kai," Senator Lusubrin said, elegantly folding one wrist over the other. "I understand you've met."

"Yes," Leia answered. "Earlier today."

"It has always been our way to fight. You-" Shin Kai pointed his finger. "Your people didn't fight. Your people didn't believe in war. We understand what happened to them."

It was like a jab to the heart.

"We fought without weapons." Her voice was sharper than she intended it to be. "We fought with our minds and our hearts and our spirits. You've been fighting to reclaim your home world for over three centuries using force alone, and yes, you've conquered other worlds but you've never taken back what you wanted, _your_ _home_. Isn't that why you're here now?" She faced Lusubrin with her hands cramped, legs tingling from lack of blood. "Excuse me, Senator, but I won't permit Alderaan to be used as an illustration of why bloodshed trumps diplomacy. There is a time for a war, and a time to avoid war. There are choices."

"The New Republic offered its assistance in taking Saijo," Shin Kai muttered. "They will take back their word."

By this point, Leia had managed to regain a semblance of calm. This was most unusual.It was as though Shin Kai were leading the delegation, not Lusubrin. She didn't presume to be familiar with Nagaian caste system, which was technically quite complicated. Based on an individual's birth, he or she was automatically placed within the hierarchy of _circles_ or _sub-circles_. Unlike many other worlds, where beings were locked into the social position in which they were born, members could move up by duelling. In fact, most Nagaian leaders had at some point, demonstrated their physical prowess and combat skills by duelling their way into the upper circles. However, Shin Kai's assertions made her wonder if he were somehow ranked above Lusubrin, even though Lusubrin was officially here as their elected representative.

"If it passes the vote, we will honour our commitment," Leia assured them all, praying she could appeal to their sense of strategy. "As a show of good faith in this government, I need you to allow due process to work."

The senator swished his hand through the air to cut off whatever Shin-Kai threatened to say next. "We will play by your rules, for the time being."

Leia nodded. "Thank you."

One of Lusubrin's concubines began speaking quickly and anxiously. After a moment's hesitation, she came to kneel beside Leia on the floor, gauzy robes fluttering. She had high cheekbones and garishly painted lips, but of all the women present, she was the only one whose face contained enough warmth to make it appealing.

"Satu Ta'a has something she wishes to say to you," Lusubrin explained. "She asks me to translate."

"Please," answered Leia, smiling kindly in return.

"She wants to thank you for your kindness to her brother. You changed the way he felt about the _others _before he died."

_Her brother_? After a frantic moment wracking her brain, Leia deduced that the woman must be the sister of Tai, the young Nagai male she and several Zeltrons had rescued in the Trenwyth system almost a month ago. The circumstances had been complicated. After a crazed attempt to take them all hostage, Tai had collapsed from injuries sustained during his ship's crash on the surface. Upon awakening, he'd been deathly afraid of everyone and prepared to fight to the death. Leia knew the Tofs enjoyed sadistically torturing their prisoners and frequently used them for entertainment purposes; she rightly surmised he'd been taken prisoner before and feared he would be treated in a similar manner. It had taken time and patience to earn his trust and subsequently, Leia had developed something akin to a motherly affection for the young man. The experience had convinced her that the Tofs reign of terror had to be stopped.

"He was kind and brave," she replied, deeming it more polite to exaggerate certain facts. "Tell her I'm saddened to hear of his passing." Her left leg was full of pins and needles by now and she shifted positions. "I was under the impression he'd recovered from his wounds when we parted ways."

"He was executed."

"Oh, I see." At her side, Satu Ta'a had sombrely bowed her head. "May I inquire as to why?"

"For weakness."

Slowly, Leia understood. She struggled to keep the shock from her face. "He was executed," she said, "for _not_ dying?"

"That is how it has been, Your Highness." Lusubrin spoke unapologetically, his eyes black pools. "She thanks you for your kindness, in any case."

"Please tell that her she's welcome." Leia rose as gracefully as she could manage on a sleeping leg, wondering if she would ever understand the nonchalant disregard with which many cultures treated a single life. "Thank you for meeting with me on such short notice, Senator."

Shin Kai uttered something guttural in Nagaian, his hardened features shifting infinitesimally.

"What is it?" Leia asked, afraid that the warrior had changed his mind and was again urging Senator Lusubrin toward war. She didn't feel as though her minor victory this evening was guaranteed. They could change their minds while she stood there; they could change their minds minutes after she left the cottage. And Endor had already seen too much bloodshed.

"He said you shouldn't be out on the paths alone at night. He offered to escort you back to your consort's ship."

"There's no need," Leia replied. _Ship? How does he know I'm staying on Han's ship and not in the village?_ "My… consort is just outside."

Shin-Kai made another guttural comment, and this time, the other bodyguards and concubines smiled unanimously in amusement. No translation was necessary. The topic was unmistakably a certain princess and general engaged in a moment of impropriety in the Endor woods. Feeling that the day couldn't possibly get any longer if the entire planet froze on its axis, Leia excused herself before the impulse to tell Shin Kai exactly what she thought of him was irrepressible.

It was late in the evening. Delegates and members of the various planetary parties were preparing to retire or having last minute meetings in preparation for tomorrow. Light from luma-lamps spilled from the cottage windows and torches lit the narrow walkways.

Han was waiting outside. She knew he wasn't in the best of moods. His facial muscles were stiff and expressionless. They navigated their way through three village hubs before he said anything. "Why don't you go over what happened between you and this Tai again," he suggested.

So, Han had been listening outside. Mentally replaying the entire conversation in the Nagai hut, Leia couldn't think of what had perturbed him to this extent. "Nothing happened."

Han folded his arms across his chest and cocked his head to one side. "It sure soundslike you had feelings for him."

Mock seriously, Leia rolled her eyes. "Has escaped your notice after all of these years that the ability to communicate is _very _important to me? The chances that I would fall in love with an injured Nagai who spoke not one word of Basic, while holing up with a three nosy Zeltrons in a grimy, filthy pile of rubble on a recently ravaged planet-"

"Are what?"

"If Threepio were here," Leia sputtered, "he'd give you astronomical odds."

"He's wrong sometimes."

"If you want to be an oaf about this, be my guest." Leia frowned incredulously.

"Yeah well…" Han craned his neck back and got to the point. "I didn't want them here in the first place."

Leia let loose a sigh of frustration. By now, news of the attack on Kerrithrarr had probably spread like wildfire through Bright Tree Village. The story alone, even with mere circumstantial evidence, might be enough to affect the vote on the coalition. "What are you trying to say?"

"I think you're wrong about them."

"They were set up."

Han snorted.

"Maybe if you were more involved in the process, you would feel differently."

"I wouldn't."

Leia muttered an Alderaanian epithet under her breath. Maybe Han didn't _care_ for the Nagai, but his outward hatred of them was becoming a problem. With the Nagai officially part of the New Republic, there wasn't room for narrow-minded bigotry, even if it was on the behalf of a giant Wookiee obsessed with his life-debt.

_Can you blame him, after what happened on Kashyyyk_?

It seemed to Leia that this life-debt business worked both ways.

What would happen if his next assignment involved leading the coalition in their effort to take back Saijo? It wasn't as though Han had made any _overt_ commitments to the New Republic. Oh, he was devoted enough, but she wasn't sure how much of that was herand how much of it was his own ambition and even then, _ambition_ wasn't the right word for Han Solo. It was more his sense of duty to the Alliance, his support for the Rebellion's ideology, his general love of sticking it to the Empire in any way, shape or form. She was tired, jittery after three cups of stim-caf and no sleep the night before. If she didn't get to a bed soon she would snore her way through the first official day of the Summit. She didn't want to end their evening arguing. She said, "I don't want you to resent me for forcing you to attend diplomatic receptions and acting as my security officer."

"I agreed to do it."

"I know you don't want to be a full-time diplomatic courier."

Han looked insulted. "I have no intention of being a full-time diplomatic courier," he said, as though the position was a fate worse than death or a job smuggling spice for Jabba the Hutt.

"That's not what I meant. I know this is only temporary."

"Sweetheart, everything is temporary."

It took a second for what he said to really sink in, and deep in her bones, Leia felt a chill run through her. They'd arrived at another of the bridges that connected the village hubs together. She stopped and wound her fingers around the guard-ropes. "Is what you want to keep fighting on behalf of the New Republic, on the other side of the galaxy?"

"I'm good at it."

"Yes, you're good at it," she said. "As a leader and tactical planner you're invaluable to us."

"You sound just like my private cheerleader."

"Please answer my question."

Han smoothed his hands over his face. "I'm not eighteen anymore. Eventually I'll be an old man. I don't want to spend the rest of my life fighting."

"I know."

"I would neverask you to give up the New Republic. You know that."

Leia swallowed hard and stared downward at the thatched roofs. "I would never ask you to settle down."

"I see."

"You would hate it," she blurted out. "You would resent me for it. And anyway, with the New Republic only now being formed I can't promise you that in a year or even two or three that I'll be able to imagine staying in one place or trying to make you a wife. I don't even know if I'd make a _good_ wife." She bit down on her lip, nearly paralysed by the enormity of what she was saying. "And I don't know if I even want children."

The look on Han's face was one of well-practiced inexpressiveness. "You've got this all figured out for us, huh?"

"No. No I don't-"

"I see then." New understanding flickered across his face. "Don't play games with me."

"I'm playing games?" Leia felt her tenuous control slipping. "Barely five minutes ago, you couldn't trust me. We've been arguing about political decisions all day."

"Don't my political leanings with our relationship."

"Oh, I wouldn't dare," she returned sarcastically. "But out of sheer curiosity, when_ you_ storm off on me because you don't support a decision I've made in the best interest of the New Republic, are you exercising your disproval as a concerned citizen or as my lover?"

"I've never done that to you."

"This morning." She arched an eyebrow and her voice came out in a hiss. "The _Falcon's_ power adaptors? They couldn't wait?"

"They took a beating on the flight back."

"I thought _we_ were more important than that."

Han stared at her without altering his expression at all, even though she watched for the slightest flinch of his facial muscles. "Have I mentioned how much I appreciated the way you've been penciling me in for three hours here, _ten_ minutes there…"

Stung by his reference to their making love the night before, Leia stepped away. "That was the best I could do under such short notice. And the next time you have a stupid complaint you should take it up with Doman Beruss."

"So what?" Han's lip curled in derision. "Now I'm just a concerned constituent?"

"You're not one of_ my_ constituents."

"No. No, I'm not." Han tipped his head to the right and brusquely grabbed her elbow. "Are we done? I don't care for making a public spectacle of ourselves."

Leia inhaled a ragged breath and skirted a glance around in the direction of the nearest cottages. She'd been shouting and voices carried easily up here. A half-dozen members of the Bothan delegation had gathered to watch them, whiskers twitching curiously. _Didn't anyone ever tell you it's not polite to stare_, she thought. Above their heads, on the next level, a solitary Elomin wandered between two cottages, his horned head turned away politely. Han towed her in the direction of the nearest hanging ladder and she didn't resist.

They climbed down in silence. This wasn't a conversation she'd been prepared to have tonight, or even any time soon, and by the time she reached the bottom, Leia felt two hundred years old and full of sickish apprehension. It hurt that Han had gone unreadable on her, that she couldn't tell what he was thinking. The well-trodden pathway between Bright Tree Village and the nearby outpost was sparsely lit, and they hastened along at a quick pace. Her words came out choppy from lack of breath. "I'm not playing games with you," she insisted. "Don't you ever think about the future?"

"Sure, sometimes." Han pinched his temples as though she was giving him a migraine headache. "When I'm not getting my ass or my ship blasted at by Imperials and their sympathizers."

"That's not what I mean."

"In case you haven't noticed, you have a monumental summit taking place on Endor, a _testament _to the future."

"Damn it!" She stopped dead in her tracks and jammed her finger toward her chest. "I mean _my_ future, personally. _Our_ future."

Defensive anger filled his tone. "Sweetheart, I thought you were pretty clear on what you _don't _want five minutes ago."

"And that's all you have to say? What about what _you_ want?"

"Since when does it matter?"

"I thought you were willing to fight for what you wanted – for _me_."

"Since when do I have to fight?" Han's voice was icy and clipped.

"You _don't_," Leia seethed. "Not if all you care about is you."

"Hey, you used to say I was selfish and only good at looking out for number one."

"I'll add coward from now on."

"Don't expect me to stick around and listen to it."

Leia reacted without thinking. Her open palm caught him across the cheek. She went to strike him again but he caught her wrist in a painfully tight grip. Chest heaving, she fell back, eyes burning with hot tears. She knew she was acting crazy, probably half-delirious from exhaustion, but she couldn't stop herself. She wouldn't be like the others he had left. She would never be Jessa Vandangante, the girl whose message had been used as bait in order to lure him to the Corporate Sector, with her emotions etched across her face so plainly a complete stranger could read them. She said, "I would never take you back."

Han didn't let her wrist go so much as he threw it away from him. "That would make a lot of people happy, now wouldn't it?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You know what I mean," he said angrily. "And it would have been nice to find out we're on the verge of going to war for the Nagai from _you_." He waited until he saw the understanding on her face. "That's what I thought." Han folded his arms across his chest and looked away, saying, "I didn't need this tonight."

"Neither did I." She shivered and pulled the edges of her moth-spun shawl together, stepping off the edge of the path, leaning against the prickly trunk of a Rookna tree. The scaled barbs stabbed at her shoulder but she didn't feel them, they were like dull knobs pressing into her. A hundred different native insects clicked their wings, thrummed and peeped, and filled the air with a cacophony of night sounds. _Why can't you trust him?_ _You're making it sound like you don't trust him. How did you expect him to react?_

Worse, there were voices coming towards them, presumably personnel or security. Leia wrung her hands in frustration. Apparently, they couldn't even have a blasted argument without being interrupted. She didn't think she was capable of shaking hands or exchanging pleasantries, or dealing with what to serve the Aqualish for breakfast, so she moved to the far side of the Rookna tree, out of sight. Han looked at her as though she were crazy and then followed. At first she assumed he was doing the same, but then she realised he was listening hard to the conversation nearing them.

"You failed us," a voice said. "They suspect it was a set-up. We're not paying you for an incomplete job."

Leia immediately crouched with her elbows on her knees. Han sank down cautiously beside her, trying not to disturb the undergrowth.

"Tell your master not to worry."

"For your sake, I hope so. He won't be impressed with any further delays."

It was too dark to make out much. Two bipeds, one tall, hooded and hairy, the other human-sized, made their way down the path. There was no time to call for back up. At the sound of their voices, Han had withdrawn his blaster from its holster. Leia went to slip her hand beneath her skirts, and then cursed silently; the close-fitting clingsilk made wearing a holdout blaster impractical, as well as a fashion disaster. Making a mental note to start dressing more modestly, Leia pointed in the pair's direction and nodded. There was no moonlight on Endor, so the night skies and the tree canopies were simply varying degrees of blackness over their heads. Their only chance at identifying them was to follow along and hope they wandered all the way back to Bright Tree Village. Once there, they could follow them into the well lit areas and discover which hub they each considered home.

They waited until they pair had moved a safe distance away. Han stepped onto the path, and then indicated it was all clear. She'd barely moved when, without warning, the night forest was lit up by a single blast of fire. Han lurched forward and crushed her to the ground with an _mmph_.

"Han?" she gasped.

She didn't know he'd been hit. Not right away.

Later she would remember the smell with sickening clarity, but at that moment, it was as if her senses had been deadened by the blast. Struggling for breath, she only heard the insects singing and felt something wet soaking through her clingsilk gown.


	3. Chapter 3

**Part III**

* * *

"One was big and covered in fur. The other was definitely human or humanoid."

"Were there any other distinguishing characteristics?" Threepio asked.

"It was dark and I couldn't see past the hood." Han feigned sincerity. "Next time I get blasted, I'll ask whoever it is to hold on while I take a holo."

"Still, that narrows our search down substantially, General Solo," Threepio said cheerfully, impervious to human sarcasm. "Based on your description of the larger assailant, the larger one could have been Aargonarian, Bimmisaari, Bothan, Caamasi, Elomin, Selonian, Shistavanen, Svivreni, or Wookiee. Mistress Leia has told me that your assailants both spoke basic; therefore, we can further rule out Wookiee, Selonian and Shistavanen. Precisely seventy-one percent of the species present-"

"Does he_ have_ to be here for this?" Han complained for the third time.

Leia set her hands on her hips. "Threepio is taking _records_ and assisting with the investigation."

Han squirmed restlessly against the support pillow. "One or both of them could see a hell of a lot better in the dark than I can."

"But you saw the shot coming in the dark." Luke was perched on the low counter, next to piles of gauze and blinking medical sensors, trying to conceal how concerned he'd been by compulsively running fingers through his unruly hair.

"Yeah. Maybe with the flash from the blaster…" Han wished he could remember more than fragments. "I guess I did."

Artoo whistled and Threepio clucked back at him. "No Artoo, there are no Wampas here on Endor. I am quite positive. As for the other perpetrator, near-human and humanoid-"

"Have you tried searching by voice?"

"She's listened to almost everyone," Luke said. "She said neither of them had a noticeable accent."

Han closed his eyes and concentrated. They'd both sounded like Inner Core residents, but anyone who'd attended an Imperial run school in the Middle or Outer systems would also have the same accent. He opened his eyes and frowned up at Leia. She'd caught him trying to sit up again and put a hand on his shoulder to flatten him. The worst of it was his body didn't have much fight in it. "Come on. It's bad enough I'm in here to begin with."

"You've only been out of the bacta tank for a few hours," Leia replied sternly.

"It's a flesh wound. Even the medic said it wasn't life-threatening."

"His exact words were that it wasn't life-threatening _with_ prompt medical treatment," Luke clarified. "Your insides were on display. You're lucky it was a low-powered shot."

"Were my insides pretty?" Han asked cheerfully.

The Jedi said, "No," and looked away to avoid feeding the conversation.

Leia was still holding his shoulder down. He smiled up at her and asked, "Have I told you lately how much I love it when you pin me to the bed?" Luke snorted and Leia quickly removed her hand, rolling her eyes toward the ceiling. "How is Kerrithrarr?" he asked. For some reason he couldn't remember if he'd already asked.

"Kerrithrarr recovered quickly, thank the force," Leia said. "His wounds were all superficial. So far, the added security hasn't been breached. Presumably the assailants know we're on to them and are keeping a low profile."

"What about your personal security?"

The mood in the room chilled. Luke cleared his throat uncomfortably and picked up an empty hypo.

"What?" Han asked.

"My former bodyguard has been reposted and in addition, the Nagai offered Shin Kai's services," she explained quickly.

"I see." He fiddled with his intravenous line. "Is this another political statement on your part?"

"He offered." Her gaze remained direct and alert but there were deep shadows under her eyes and she was pale and hollow-cheeked. "It doesn't hurt that I'm strategically demonstrating my confidence in them by accepting the offer, just as their offer probably likewise, was strategic."

"And to tell the truth," Luke chimed in, "there aren't many people here more qualified."

Han digested that and asked, "When is the coalition vote?"

"The day after tomorrow." She checked the slender chrono circling her wrist, brows knit together in concern. "Afternoon sessions are beginning in ten minutes. Will you be all right until this evening?"

"Not if you leave Goldenrod in here."

Leia barely suppressed her amusement. "What precisely would he do to you?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of what _I'll_ do to me."

"Fine, have it your way. I'll take them both."

Han didn't mind being held down for her goodbye kiss after all.

Once she'd left, droids in tow, Luke hopped off the counter and swung a chair nearer to the bed, sliding onto it backwards. He folded his arms atop the backrest and rested his chin. "They're calling you a hero. They're talking about giving you a Medal of Valour."

"Can you talk them into giving me a new Quadex energy core for the _Falcon_?" he asked hopefully, trying to sit up a few inches.

"Uh… I'll see what I can do."

That was a pipe dream. "Don't sweat it." Han flopped back, wracking his memory. Usually, when he saved a life, it wasn't by freak accident. Honestly, he hadn't seen the blast coming. Nor did he recall tackling Leia to save her from a shot that had her name scrawled all over it. Everything had happened so fast. One second he'd been wondering if he pre-emptively stunning them both was his best option and the next he'd awoken in the Endor Medical Centre, wondering what day it was and why the bridge of his nose ached as though he'd smashed it against a rock, or the back of a skull. It didn't make any sense. Unless… Han had a sudden flash of memory. _No that's crazy._ The pain meds were making his mind foggier than the Transitory Mists that surrounded the Hapes Cluster. "Yeah. Leia?"

"Really, security is tight. And you were following them, not the other way around."

"But if this is a plot against the Nagai, she _was_ the delegate instrumental in putting this whole deal together."

"You provided them an opportunity too good to pass up." Luke rubbed at his cheek. "We've added security to the paths and artificial lighting. She's never alone."

It was reassuring, but he had the feeling Luke wasn't telling him something. He looked around for anything that resembled clothing, since the blast had ruined his uniform. He spotted the butt of his blaster, hanging in his tie-down holster from a hook behind the door, but nothing else. "Did Leia grab any of my stuff from the _Falcon_?"

"No." Luke was smiling a little.

"What's so funny?"

"She thought you would skip out of the medcentre before they officially discharge you."

_Damn it._ Leia's accurate anticipation of his behaviour and attempt to out-think him might have been amusing, if he wasn't feeling very vulnerable and acutely aware of the fact that he had nothing on beneath the thin blanket. In a pinch, he supposed he could wear it back to the _Falcon_, but he would probably attract a lot of unwanted attention. Han sighed with exaggerated resignation, volunteered a few groans for good measure and tried to look like a pathetic and helpless Corellian. "I guess she got me."

It worked a little too well, because Luke asked, "Do you want the Emdee?"

"Nah."

"Chewie has moved back to the _Falcon_ from the Wookiee hub," Luke added, in an effort to reassure him. "He's sleeping on board and he had uh... an interesting collision with Shin Kai yesterday."

"He bites first and asks questions later."

"He didn't actually bite."

"Too bad."

Luke cleared his throat. "Listen, is there anything else you remember, even something you might think is insignificant? A few members of High Command are having a conniption and Intelligence is under fire."

Since his rescue on Tatooine, Luke tended to exhibit a preternatural Jedi calm but today he appeared unusually stressed. Han took all this to mean Luke was coming under fire. "I'll keep thinking about it," he promised. "Say, you wouldn't happen to have an extra comlink?

"What for?"

"Mine was fried." Years of playing Sabaac and smuggling to worlds that examined cargo manifests with a fine-toothed comb had made him a very convincing liar. Matter-of-factly, Han said, "I want to comm Leia." At that, Luke unclipped his comlink from his belt and tossed it onto the bed. Han couldn't tell if the Jedi intended to wait around until he was done using it, so he added, "It might be mushy-"

"Shut up. Keep it. Rest up."

"Thanks kid."

He stared at the ceiling and forced himself to count to one hundred. The he commed the only person he knew couldn't refuse him a favour.

* * *

Shin Kai was scowling again.

After two days as his assignment, Leia had deduced it was his only expression and if anything cheered him an iota, she had yet to see it. This evening was much the same, even though finally, the case for the Nagaian homeworld of Saijo had been presented. The lush, temperate planet was located in the Unknown Regions, uncomfortably close to Imperial Space and the Chiss Ascendancy, and had been controlled by the Tofs for over a century. Compared with the Tofs, the Nagai were virtual harbingers of peace and love. The Tofs were a ruthless, militaristic species, devoid of every good trait that linked them with their human cousins. Their invasion of Saijo had effectively pushed the Nagai into the galaxy proper. For the past few decades, the Tofs had been aligned with the Empire and their reign of bloody tyranny, which surpassed even that of Palpatine's New Order, had been allowed to continue unchecked so long as they didn't venture out of the Unknown Regions. Taking Saijo back would be a major coup, not just for the Alliance, but also for every world that had suffered at the hands of the Tofs. The final vote would be on the last day of the summit, with discussions and debate to take place tomorrow.

With her hands still firmly clasped before her, Leia skirted a curious glance at Shin Kai. "Does it please you?"

"Yes." Under his breath, he added, "Do the Bothans… always…"

"They're doing their best to orchestrate a smear campaign within the hubs," Leia finished. "We know." They didn't miss a beat and the Bothan Spynet provided them with a bountiful source of information; they knew precisely who to nudge and how to maximize their negotiating chances. She lowered her voice a pitch. "They usually have an issue they either champion or oppose vehemently at every session."

"I see. I will remember that." Something caught his gaze and the familiar scowl resurfaced.

This time, she followed his line of sight across several platforms to the Nagai delegation. Today, the youngest concubine, Satu Ta'a, sat beside Lusubrin. She was clad in a slinky black gown that left little to the imagination and would have been more appropriate at an underworld nightclub on Coruscant. Had this been a formal government event, the delegates' parties would only have been restricted to the opening and closing ceremonies, but hosting an official summit on a backwoods planet had made it impractical to sequester everyone. This summit was as much for show as it was for purpose.

Leia glanced up over her head, and found herself lost in the dizzying patterns created by criss-crossed branches, draping leaves and the late-day sun. It felt as though the forest was a living entity and calling to her. _I'm tired_, she thought. The previous two nights had been restless to say the least and she was on the verge of losing her ability to function with a clear head. Last night she'd slept on the cot in Han's room while waiting for his bacta treatment to end.

Now that the second session had officially ended, the crowds had begun to dissipate as everyone returned to their hubs. Leia said, "I'm going to the refresher," knowing Shin Kai would follow her discreetly, and hating that she couldn't go anywhere alone. Han tailing her around was only mildly annoying, and often interesting.

She crossed the walkway to one of the many common areas, and set her hand on the outside of the refresher door, senses tingling. No, the forest hadn't been calling to her. _This_ had. Cold fear pricked her back and her heart began to pound uncomfortably hard as she pushed on the door. She didn't trust her eyes.

The creature shrank back further into the shadows. Heavily matted fur hung in clumps; where the light spattered, it flickered as though it were a moving holo-image interrupted by static. It wore a shaded visor but underneath its eyes glowed red. "Princess," a voice croaked.

_Han_. She withdrew the small holdout blaster from her sleeve, surreptitiously hitting the emergency button on the comlink encircling her wrist. She said, "I should kill you."

"I am unarmed."

She shook her head, remembering the heavy, deadened weight of Han's body and the scorched blood soaking her gold clingsilk gown. The desire to seek revenge swelled beneath her breast like a glitterstim rush and her fingers were heavy on the pulse pad as though blood pooled in her fingertips. "My consort was nearly killed."

"There was no other way," it said. "You would have died."

"What do you mean?"

"He didn't save you, I did."

"I don't believe you."

"I don't blame you." It extended a gnarled hand. A piece of flimsy, folded into a small rectangle was tucked between two rounded claws. "This is for you."

"What is it?"

"A name."

After a moment's hesitation, Leia took it, but she didn't lower her weapon. The urge to kill the creature outright was abating as the rational part of her brain regained control. "What do you want?"

"Amnesty and passage off this planet."

"It's bold of you to ask but I haven't that authority" Leia pressed her lips into a thin, flat line. It… no _he_, assumed she knew who he was. That could only mean one thing. "With your ability to conceal yourself you could have stolen a shuttle."

"Not without killing one of your guards."

The rumble of footsteps sounded behind her. In that instant, the wraith realised he was caught, but he made no move to escape. "Ask your acting chief of state if she remembers."

"Your Highness, are you hurt?" Kyle Katarn asked.

She was as if in a daze. "Oh no." She shook her head worriedly. "I don't know how much he may have heard during the proceedings."

"We'll find out."

* * *

"What took you so long?"

It was late when Lando Calrissian finally showed up to liberate him from the medcentre. He was just in time. The Emdee droid had passed by half an hour earlier to check Han's vitals and forced him to eat a bland mushy meal by threatening to keep him company. It had also promised to come back later with the bedside fresher unit.

"It's tougher to sneak into the medcentre than get into the cell block on the _Death Star_." Lando managed to smile at him without appearing like a used speeder sales representative and withdrew a bundle of clothing from beneath his cloak. "How do you feel?"

"Like a rancor tried to eat me and spit me out." Han swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat up for the first time in almost two days. He was rewarded with a nauseating wave of dizziness. The floor shifted several times before it settled. The skin along his left side was unbearably tight and waking up most unpleasantly. Pain spiked up into his shoulder and all the way down to his fingertips.

"They're not going to be happy about this."

"They'll get over it."

"Leia will have my head."

"I'll get it back for you." He wondered if the painkillers had worn off – if it would get worse before it got better – and yanked the intravenous line from the back of his hand. "Did you grab the speeder?"

"It's out the back entrance." Lando passed him his shirt. "You didn't tell me why."

"I'm not feeling up to a hike." Han grabbed for his pullover shirt and winced. Donning it took careful planning and navigation, as he couldn't lift his left arm higher than his chest. "We have a pit stop to make along the way."

"We're not going to look for your assailant _now_?" Lando started.

"No." Han clumsily climbed into his trousers and stuffed his feet into his boots. He took a tentative step forward, wiping the blood from the catheter off his hand, and then retrieved his holster and blaster. "I want to go back to where I was hit."

Calrissian didn't look as though he thought that was a good idea. "Leia was an absolute wreck yesterday," he said soberly.

Han emitted an unsympathetic grunt. An entire day of summit proceedings sounded like a vacation compared to twenty hours straight in a bacta tank. The wrinkles were still working their way out of his skin.

"Luke spent a lot of time consoling her."

"I'm not worried about Luke," Han said.

"Sure," Lando replied, peering into the hallway. "He's only a young, good-looking Jedi who single-handedly destroyed the Emperor and Darth Vader months ago, poster boy and hero of the New Republic-"

"I'm not worried," Han repeated tersely. The hall was clear as they darted into it. He walked stiffly. "Which way?"

"Left, left, and straight down the hall. How do you know there's not going to be a surprise party waiting for us on the way to the _Falcon_?"

"I don't. Did you get the other thing?"

"The tech that put it together kept asking me what it was for." After a few minutes, they successful navigated the medcentre halls, exiting out a rear entrance crowded by crates of medical supplies that had been recently shuttled planetside. "No offence," Lando said, pouncing onto the forward seat of the swoop. "Breaking you out is one thing. Letting you fly me around in your condition is another."

"Yeah well," Han complained, "just as long as you watch your hands."

Soon afterward, they arrived at the location of the attack. It was dusk, and the forest looked a hell of a lot more innocent. Han climbed off his speeder bike with the agility of a ninety-year-old man. Then he activated the modified glowrod and began a slow, careful perusal of the immediate area.

"Are you going to tell me what you're looking for?"

"Just as the blast went off…" Han shook his head, scanning and straining for the memory – or had it been his imagination? – And waited for his eyes to adjust. "I felt a shove."

"_Into_ the line of fire?" Lando asked.

"Leia was in front of me," the Corellian said. "I was standing right here facing her." He pointed to an area marked by flattened and bloodstained grasses. "I pitched forward and landed on top of her, here." Han turned his index finger toward the path. "The blast came from that direction."

"So someone wanted to save her life and _you_ were the most convenient shield around."

"Yeah." Han studied the bark and scraped his nails across it until he'd gathered several pieces of greenish-gold hair. Suddenly, the pieces began to fit together. "See these?"

"What's the big deal?"

Han deactivated the ultra-violet glowrod and switched on an ordinary one. "See anything now?"

"_Mynock Muffins_!" Lando exclaimed. "How'd you do that?"

"Wraiths are invisible in what humans call the visible spectrum, and visible under ultra-violet light. They probably shed when they panic, just like Wookiees."

"You're full of bantha shit. There are probably a dozen animals that brushed up against that tree today." Lando looked around anxiously. The forest had become oppressively dark in the last five minutes. "There are probably a dozen carnivorous animals watching us and wondering if we'd make a good meal."

Han dug out Luke's comlink and commed the security centre. Eventually, someone managed to track down Luke, who sounded exasperated. "I was hoping you'd been kidnapped by Ewoks. _Where_ are you?"

"Doing research."

"Find anything?"

"Command can cross my name off the medal list. We have an ally who prefers to be anonymous. There were five of us on that path. The fifth pushed me so that I would take the shot. Looks like it was a wraith."

"That explains a lot," Luke said. "I didn't think you could see in the dark."

"Gee thanks."

"You're welcome. Oh and Han."

"What?"

"Next time you pull a stunt like this, remember that I'm a Jedi Knight." Luke's voice was eerily calm. You had to know Luke to recognize that when he sounded _this _serious, he was kidding.

"How about I don't tell her that you aided and abetted."

Luke swore. "Go to your ship. And don't _do_ anything."

Lando was watching, looking amused. "Leia was really a wreck." He repeated it as though Han hadn't understood him the first time, which he had and was trying to forget.

"So?"

"There's a rumour going around that you two were fighting in one of the hubs."

"There's rumour going around that you've been spending a lot of time in Kira Lar's cabin."

"She has great taste in music and a killer smile." Lando shrugged. "Now what's your excuse?"

There wasn't one. Irritated by what Doman Beruss had told him, Han had picked the fight, although he hadn't expected it to go the way it had. She'd blindsided him. He hadn't seen that conversation coming. Not by a long shot. They returned to the _Falcon _and within an hour, it had all come out.

"She's testing you," Lando said.

Han shook his head. "She isn't like that."

Lando made a noise that sounded like the final buzzer in a smashball game.

"It _wasn't_ a test."

"She wants to know if you want the same things she does."

"She said she _doesn't_ want to be a wife or a mother or settle down."

"Intellectually, she thinks she doesn't."

"Here we go." Han rolled his eyes and sucked back the last of his whiskey noisily. He'd had one to take the edge off the pain in his side and a second to ameliorate the pain of spilling his guts. A third just for the hell of it seemed like a good idea. He beckoned Calrissian to fill his glass. "You should be paying me to listen to you."

Grudgingly, Lando filled the glass to within a finger's width of the rim.

_I might be getting drunk_, Han thought. It wasn't such a bad feeling, all things considered. It didn't hurt to reach for the bottle any more. "Come on," he prodded. "Spit it out. The Calrissian Theory of Female Psychology."

"It's simple." The smoke from Lando's cigarillo curled into finger-like wisps over his head. "A woman's best defence is a good offence. A woman will never come out and tell you what she really wants. She will instead, pretend that she doesn't want what she most wants, bring it up, then watch for your reaction."

"So what she wants most is to settle down and leave the New Republic?" Han would have burst out laughing, if it didn't hurt so damn much. "I don't think so."

"She's a woman, remember. She's not going to make it that obvious. You'll have to read between the lines. But if she thinks you don't want this as bad as she does, she'll push you away first."

The sombre voice of the alien Annadale Fayde sang _Darkness on the Land _in the background. The idea of a 'commitment' wasn't so complicated. _You take her somewhere nice and private and make a promise to her. You tell her you believe that one day the galaxy might be a peaceful enough place that you can both sit down and figure out more than what you currently have._ But if going to the Corporate Sector had taught him of anything, it was that his past was never far behind him. And he didn't have many advocates within the Alliance.

"Have you thought about leaving?"

"The New Republic?"

Han rolled his eyes. "No, the Collective of Coruscanti Classical Musicians."

Lando shrugged evasively. "They say war is a businessman's greatest opportunity."

"Not when you're wearing a uniform," Han commented dryly.

"Yeah," Lando replied. "It is proving to be problematic."

"Call me crazy…" Han shook his head, "but I haven't even thought about leaving."

"Han, you old pirate, you _are_ crazy."

Han was giving his mental state serious thought when he heard a raucous hoot from the onramp, and seconds later Chewie was mussing his hair, patting his back and cooing, and in general, making him hurt and ache all over.

"It's been ten years and I still can't understand a thing he's saying," Lando remarked.

"He wants to know how the food was," Han said, looking up at a furry face most sentient species considered ferocious. "It was terrible. But better than your cooking."

* * *

The day was interminable.

Leia was the last to arrive at the Provisional Council meeting where Borsk Fey'lya gloated merrily about her tardiness as though she were a junior senator visiting Coruscant for the first time. It wasn't her fault. She'd been caught by an old friend of her father's crossing through the Delayan hub and spent fifteen minutes trying to extricate herself from a protracted stream of nostalgia-induced condolences. People acted as though the _Death Star_ destroyed Alderaan yesterday, not four years ago, and they all expected her to collapse and curl up in a foetal position. It always took her a few minutes to put herself back together after moments like that.

The evening agenda consisted of little more than an endless tally of items that needed their approval. The only item of interest was a report was an outbreak of Hesken fever in the Ithorian hub, which was spreading quickly but fortunately was non life-threatening to humans, humanoids and most aliens, and easily treatable. When the meeting ended, Leia remained seated, waiting until she and Mon Mothma were the only two in the room. She clutched the tiny piece of flimsy in her hand beneath the table.

"What is it Leia?" Mon asked.

"Have you ever heard of Savuud Thimram?"

"Not in many, many years." Mon regarded her quizzically. "I didn't know anyone remembered him. He was the son of a senator, of a well-known family, something of a playboy. He vanished while on vacation, never to return home. There are rumours of course…"

"Tying him to the Emperor." Leia had already spoken to Luke about the wraith and passed on the name.

"He could have been on the _Death Star_," Luke had said thoughtfully. "Maybe he made it to an escape pod before it blew."

"I don't make deals with servants of the Emperor," Leia had replied flatly.

"But he might have been held prisoner, escaped in the chaos."

"Then why ask me for amnesty?"

Luke had _hmmed_, taking it all in seriously, and then said, "Whether or not he _was_ working for the Emperor, he seems to be taking great pains in the present to make sure no one gets hurt so that he can escape."

"Yes." Mon's piercing eyes seemed to go straight through her. "How do you know?"

"It's a guess." Leia leaned forward in her plush synthleather chair. "At least, it's an angle for the attack on Kerrithrarr the other night, perhaps the attack on me."

"How is Han?" Mon asked.

A disturbing mental image formed in her imagination, of Han climbing down into the engine ports, crawling across the _Falcon's_ hydraulics like a Woostrian sea-monkey and tearing his side open. Mon had caught the fraught expression on her face and was studying her worriedly, and Leia answered quickly, "He's well on his way to a full recovery."

"I'm glad to hear it. I know you're very fond of him." Mon sat back in her chair, arms relaxed on the armrests. "How serious is this?"

The New Republic chief was being familiar with her. She wasn't often. In the years since Mon Mothma had taken her on as her protégée, Leia had come to understand that her entire life revolved around her commitment to democracy and that her family came second. It was in her blood, in her genes. Her mother had been governor of Chandrila and her father the arbiter-general of the Republic. Mon was also no stranger to sacrifice; her son Jobin had been killed on Hoth during the evacuation from Echo Base. Though Leia knew her grief was great, she'd never seen her waver in public.

Privately, Mon Mothma thought Bail Organa's daughter could do better than a former smuggler with questionable parentage. She would have preferred a match that was politically advantageous for the New Republic and befitting her position as the last heir to the House of Alderaan. She thought Leia had lost her focus after what happened on Bespin.

All this Leia knew and pretended she didn't.

Leia cleared her throat uncertainly. "The new government is my focus right now."

She smiled. "I'm asking as someone who watched you grow up."

Leia took a moment, and decided Mon meant it. "Serious then," she said frankly. "I'm afraid we haven't the luxury of looking ahead right now."

Mon leaned forward slightly. "These types of issues tend to sort themselves out if left alone too long."

"Of course," she answered, unsure of what the elder political leader was getting at. When Leia was younger, her aunts had pushed hard for a marriage with one of the Ancient Houses. Now that Alderaan was gone, there were few suitors scattered across the galaxy, and claims to Alderaanian royalty were made by either distant cousins living on other worlds, or con artists inspired by rumours of offworld riches and trust funds. "The old traditions meant little to me before the war," Leia began awkwardly. "My father accepted that. So if this is a question of propriety-"

"It isn't."

"Oh?"

"The truth is I need to appoint a Minister of State. I want you to have adequate time to make your own decision before I make any formal announcements. "

Leia was speechless. And flattered. "I understand. I'll give the offer serious consideration." Mon Mothma had been instrumental in the Alliance to Restore the Republic since before Leia's birth. She'd dedicated a quarter of a century, nearly half her life, to the cause and she was the only founder of the Alliance to Free the Republic who'd survived the war. Leia had always thought of her as ageless, but today she felt as though she were seeing Mon through clear eyes for the first time. The flesh along her throat was sagging and her speckled hands covered with ridges and veins. Leia thought,_ why, she's getting old._ She said, "I can't imagine what it must feel like to see this coming to fruition."

"There is so much work to be done Leia. I don't feel I can rest for a second."

"Neither do I," Leia replied quietly. "Neither do I."

When she stepped onto the_ Falcon _a short time later, she could smell the lingering cigarillo smoke immediately. She headed for the main hold, set her jacket on the holo-table, and then moved the empty bottle of whisky and glass over to the galley counter, saying, "Honestly, I don't know how you've managed to keep yourself in one piece after all these years."

"Luck." Han grinned to himself. "It's _me._ I'm fine. This is nothing."

"You're drunk," she accused.

"No." He grinned adorably. "But you should try it."

"I prefer to be clear-headed."

"That's because you're a control freak."

She saw him catch the inside of his cheek between his teeth. Even small movements pained him. "You shouldn't have left the medcentre," she admonished.

"Are you still mad?"

"Consider yourself lucky. My feelings have downgraded from livid. Now, let me see."

Han slumped obediently and propped his chin up in the hand, elbow resting on the table. "You look terrible."

"Thanks." Leia helped him from his shirt and set about preparing to change the bandaging, removing first the gauze and then the underlying bacta patch. Synthflesh modified to match his genetic structure covered the burn. Beneath the synthflesh was a muscle graft. The new skin was smooth and a perfect match to his skin tone; the faint irregularities could be treated later if they bothered him He needed to refrain from stretching it for at least a few days and any physical activity for the next week or two while the underlying muscles bonded. It was healing nicely, though Han was probably still very sore.

"I didn't save your life," he volunteered. "Something shoved me."

That explained what the wraith had told her. She sprayed the wound with dermaseal and re-wrapped it. "Was it a wraith?"

"Luke told you."

"Actually, he didn't." She washed her hands, opened her satchel and unpacked slices of red cheese and cloudberry dumplings leftover from the evening buffet. Her appetite surprised her. She sat and devoured everything, and updated Han on the visit from the wraith hours earlier. When she finished eating and talking, she sat back and eyed him tenderly. His face was thinner than usual, shadowed by recent beard growth. She couldn't recall an occasion that Han had ever been critically injured and accepted medical treatment gracefully. The idea of being temporarily helpless and not in control set him on edge. She asked, "Do you want help getting to your cabin?"

Without hesitation, Han answered, "Only if I get to play medic too."

In spite of herself, she laughed. "You never give up, do you?"

"Never."

"Well don't get your imagination all worked up, hotshot." She reached over and rumpled his hair affectionately. "The only place you're going is straight to bed."

Han set his good arm over Leia's shoulder and she helped him through the _Falcon's_ narrow halls. He stopped to lean against the hatch outside his cabin and kiss her deeply, breath tainted with alcohol and, more faintly, bacta. Suddenly she was drifting away from the present, from the chaos that would be tomorrow and the day after that. And when he finally went to lie down, looking exhausted, her stomach churned anxiously. From experience, she knew that if they crawled into_ that _bed they would go on and pretend nothing had happened the other night. Maybe that was it - this sense of being unsatisfied and uncertain was as much physical as it was emotional.

Han repositioned his pillow, and then struggled to sit partway up again until his face crumpled under the strain.

"Stop doing that." Leia began picking up stray items of clothing, a data-reader, a glass and debated searching the _Falcon's_ med-bay for some kind of sedative or anaesthetic. _And if you give him anything to dull the pain, he'll think he's a Jedi Knight ending a rite of celibacy_. "Have you ever had Hesken fever?"

"Why?"

"We have an outbreak."

"During my previous life, yeah." Han thumped an open palm on the mattress. "Come to bed."

That was one worry she could cross off her mental list. Leia went to sit on the bunk, her stomach in knots. "Listen-"

Han held up his hand and let out a long slow breath, obviously expecting some sort of tirade or conclusion to their exchange the other night. He said, already on the defensive, "Sweetheart, we knew this would be hard."

Her mouth twisted ruefully. She turned her chin away from him and rested it on the arch of her shoulder. She didn't want to reopen their argument from the other night, but it was bothering her and had to be resolved. They (if _they _were a _they_) had a future, and that future deserved their consideration, or at least some kind of discussion or acknowledgement that it existed, but Han would never tell her what he didn't want to tell her, would never say what he didn't intend and she couldn't force words from him. So she said, "I don't have the energy to deal with a fight right now."

"Who said that we're going to fight," he protested stubbornly. "Besides, I _like_ that we fight,"

"You're turned on by the battle. Like a Barabel."

"Yeah? I've seen you get all hot and bothered in the heat of the moment. What about the time on the holotable-"

"That was _different_," she said curtly. They had been fighting over a navigational course change, not the rest of their lives. It was a moment she remembered feverishly for its rawness, dearly for the way Han had made her feel. She could tell by the intense glean in Han's eyes that he was remembering too and her cheeks reddened.

He added, mouth twitching closer to a smile, "And what about the episode in the storage compartment?"

"_Han_."

"What?"

"Shut up." She went to kiss him quickly but he caught the back of her head and held her down. When he released her, she drew back only slightly and rested her forehead crookedly on his pillow, exhaling against his neck. "I'm just saying that this can't always be the way we fix things."

"It isn't."

"It _is_ too."

She closed her eyes and pressed her lips against the soft spot just below his ear. "You hurt me."

"You _slapped_ me."

"I'm sorry. I keep telling you." That was, if apologizing to him when he was half-sedated because he kept fighting the bacta immersion counted. She sat up straight suddenly. "I meant it."

"I remember." Han raised an eyebrow and the corner of his mouth in unison, as if amused. His hand drew a meandering line from her cheek to her hip. "Now are you coming to bed or not?"

"I'm too tired."

"I'm too sore."

"Good." Her mouth twisted with a wry smile. "I thought I was going to have to sedate you." She dimmed the cabin lights and undressed, then helped Han remove his trousers. Han rolled up onto his good side, and Leia rolled into him and pressed her calf between is legs. She dragged the corner of her pillow downward and arranged it so that she could lay with her forehead bowed against his chest. As the sheet settled around them like a close-fitting cocoon, she thought she could nestle into his body for the rest of her life.


	4. Chapter 4

_** Author's Notes: Thanks for the replies everyone! I apologize profusely for the tardiness of this update. It may be a while before I update again as I'm slogging my way through a massive research paper this month.**_

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_Part IV _

The pilot's chair in the _Falcon's_ cockpit wasn't all that comfortable and the chrono on the panel said it was a few hours until the first round of talks began. It was too early for respectable politicians from foreign worlds to be out of bed, and too late for a man pursued by memories let them get the better of him. Han's nightmares tended to strike during the heaviest period of sleep, when he was paralyzed and effectively tied to the bunk in which he lay.

After wrestling up a second cup of caf, Han grabbed the speeder. The funny thing about heading out aimlessly was that ultimately, one headed for a familiar place.

The melted mask was irrefutable, a horrible visage even after being burnt, but Han could still recognize pieces of it. All of the Sith Lord's body armour had been fire resistant and consequently, none of it had burned completely, not to ashes. Han didn't know why Luke hadn't removed the armour and machinery from his father's body before setting him atop the funeral pyre. Of course, Han supposed he wouldn't have remembered either, that Skywalker couldn't have been thinking clearly at a time like that.

With the early morning dawn casting a watery rose light, and seedlings sprouting radiantly, hungrily from the ashes, Vader's resting place was little more than an archaeological site, in the process of being devoured and trapped by taproots and thick-waisted trees. Nothing reminiscent of the horror remained. Han knew he couldn't fight Leia's nightmares any easier than he could his own of carbonite, his own of not rescuing her from Tion in time. The nightmares lately had been vivid, assaulting his senses like a fresh blaster wound, like smelling his own burnt flesh and ozone all over again.

By the time he arrived back at the Falcon, Luke was there to meet him with a stack of data-files. "How is Leia?" he asked.

"Everyone keeps asking that." Han shook his head incredulously. "What's crazy is that-" He gestured to himself dramatically. "-_I'm_ the one whose intestines were on display in the not-so-recent past."

"I know. I didn't mean it to sound like that." Luke whistled under his breath. "I suppose it's not my place to ask what's going on with you two."

"Didn't you ask your sister?"

"Leia's real funny when something bothers her."

Han fiddled with the access panel for the concussion missile launcher, which theoretically was illegal for a civilian to possess, but now that he was a General for the New Republic, he figured technicalities like that were irrelevant. "You mean she's about as communicative as a mynock?"

Luke picked up a hydrospanner and studied it. "Something like that. She did say she delivered a nasty right hook."

"Were you coming by for breakfast?"

"No." He set the hydrospanner down and gestured to the datafiles. "I have information for Leia. I also wanted to let her know we haven't discovered much about the Wraith yet. He's been eating everything they bring him."

"Can't he tell you who attacked us?"

"He doesn't know."

"He was there that night. Have him look at holos."

"It's not that simple." Luke cleared his throat. "He's blind. He's been manipulating his force-sensitivity as a way to cope with his handicap."

Han raised an eyebrow. "I guess that explains why he didn't steal a ship."

"Yeah." Luke checked his chrono. "Do me a favour and tell Leia the Emperor blinded him. It'll make a difference to her."

"Sure," Han replied.

When he went back inside the _Falcon_, Leia was sleeping on her stomach with both hands folded under her breasts, breathing heavily with a slight stuffiness as though the thick morning pollen from the forests had seeped inside his ship and affected her. Sharp memories came to him, of how she'd looked during that terrible period just after Alderaan was destroyed, when she hated him and scared everyone else. Heads down, everyone had furtively watched her cut across the hanger decks because she was beautiful and angry and tragic, and therefore mesmerizing.

She was still mesmerizing. That temper, the one that both excited him and startled him.

Han sat on the edge of the bunk and wiggled his hands beneath her dress. It was very early morning on Endor. The ship was cool and quiet, but her skin was warm and the softness of her belly beneath his palm was enough to drive him mad. His groin was already throbbing with heat. The impulse to make love to her surged like liquid heat through is veins. He shed his clothing, tugged the sheets up, and then crawled atop her, prodding her legs apart with his knees.

Her mouth half-opened, surprised.

"_Shhh_." He pressed two fingers against his mouth until they were wet, then reached down between her legs, moving them this way and that way, not quite a circle.

When she was ready, she dug her knees in and arched her back, making it easy for him to enter her. They coupled quietly and quickly. Leia pressed her face against the pillow, closed her eyes, and clenched her fists around the sheet. Her climax came with a gasp, thighs and knees quivering, her body tightening so that only his hand pressed over her sex kept her from pushing him out. Beneath his lips, Han felt the _thump-thump_ of blood rushing beneath her ear.

Her body relaxed, legs parted slightly more, and several strokes later, his own release came. Then he withdrew and fell to his right side, drawing her up against him so that his erection fit into the cleft of her buttocks.

She reached back and cupped his thigh, sliding her fingers up over his hipbone until they grazed the rough edge of his bandages. "Do you hurt?" she asked.

"Nah," he half-lied. He had a painful stitch in his side and it hurt to breathe but it was worth it. It wasn't nearly as bad as yesterday.

"If I'd been more awake I wouldn't have let you do that."

"You've been playing hard to get ever since I got back from Ralltir," he complained, adopting a silly falsetto. "I have an Inner Council meeting. The Ishi Tib delegate is lost! You just got out of the bacta tank! "

"Stop that." Leia reached back and slapped his leg. "I heard a speeder outside."

"Luke dropped off information for you." Han nuzzled her shoulder and pressed his cheek against her hair. "I went for a ride."

"Let's stay here all day," she said.

"I'm _not_ the one who usually needs convincing." Han lifted his head. "What's the matter?"

She sighed. "It's the end of the war and it's not the end of the war. Nothing will ever go back to the way it was before.

"War changes people," he answered. "You can't go back to being who you were. Loss changes people."

"The past is diminishing faster than I can remember it."

"You won't forget."

"Maybe I want to." Leia shifted cautiously, seeking a more comfortable position for her right leg, draping it over his calves. "Maybe it would be easier if I could. Then I wouldn't identify with warriors willing to kill everything in their path in order to go home."

Han chuckled. "You're overstating it, don't you think?"

"No." Her chin was pointed wedge against the mattress. "I feel like my entire life has been divided into before and after."

"Aren't there parts to the after that are good?"

"Yes." Leia rolled over and squirmed until they were face-to-face, sharing one pillow. "Except for shouting matches on bridges. I can't handle that. I can't permit myself to be that kind of person," she said determinedly.

"You're not."

"Not even for a minute."

A shudder of sympathy washed over him. "You're being too hard on yourself. And well, I admit it. I've been a Hutt's ass about the Nagai." Han shifted his arm. "I'm not saying that I'm going to fall in love with them but I'm willing to be more open-minded."

"Thank you for trying. For saying that." She leaned up and kissed him on the tip of his nose. "It must be late and Shin Kai will be here soon. Do you want help with your shower?"

On his cramped ship, they were used to sharing intimacies that couples often kept private from one another. He followed her in and removed his bandaging. After she proclaimed him healing well, he climbed beneath the spray of water and scrubbed himself until the smell and taste of bacta was as close to gone as he could get it.

By the time he made it to the galley, Leia was swathed in layers of 'diplomatic white' and had nearly finished her caf. The holotable had been converted into a temporary office, covered in durasheet documents and her datareader. She was already ploughing through the information Luke had dropped off for her.

He ruffled his drying hair. "What does it say?"

She tabbed her way through a dense section of writing on her datareader. "It says that Savuud Thimram was last seen two years ago on Coruscant. Currently, he's believed to be in hiding on Byss."

"Byss?"

"It's a planet in the deep core." She sipped her caf distractedly. "Supposedly, he's an adept, private servant to Palpatine. If this is true, he's probably had time regroup. Once the New Republic is organized, we'll plan to retake Coruscant." Leia turned and faced him. "We must assume that someone here has been relaying all of that information to him."

"I know you're not naïve enough to believe the proceedings here aren't being fed to what's left of the Empire."

"No." She crossed her legs and frowned.

"Relax." Han set his hands on her shoulders and worked his thumbs into the base of her neck. He was having one of those mornings where he couldn't touch her enough.

"I can't."

"_Try_."

After a moment, she said, very softly, "Han dear?"

"Hm."

"Is there any reason the starboard smuggling compartment would be open?"

"No." Not only was the compartment open, the edge of a scarlet robe peeked out at them.

"Stay there," he hissed. Holding his blaster in his good arm, and moved to the smuggling compartment and kicked the lid away.

Lusubrin's youngest concubine cowered beneath him. Her face was bruised and she was babbling nonsensically in her own language.

It looked like Han was going to have to start being more open-minded right away. "_Leia_," he said.

"Oh no." Leia climbed down into the compartment and put her arms around her. "Send for Threepio," she ordered. "And Luke."

* * *

Threepio came out first. They'd been in the medbay for over an hour, but Leia wouldn't let anyone in.

"So what's going on?" Han asked.

"I am afraid Mistress Leia ordered me to delete the file-"

Han banged his head against the bulkhead.

"You deleted the entire conversation?" Luke repeated, slightly aghast. "Everything you just translated?"

"Yes. Unless my system is malfunctioning. However, the odds of my recalling Mistress Leia's order to delete my most recently created file and having the file arbitrarily suffer due to an unknown internal malfunction-"

"Isn't that like giving yourself a memory wipe?" Han barked.

Threepio looked perplexed. "Not at all. I have the capability to delete single files. It was built into my system so that I could translate sensitive information."

For once, the golden droid made perfect sense.

Leia entered the common area with a loud sigh.

"Are you going to tell _us _what's going on?" Luke asked, tipping his head toward the protocol droid.

"I needed to make sure he doesn't accidentally leak anything of what she just told me."

Han hobbled back over to the holotable and eased himself into the booth. "She was assaulted."

"Someone tried to kill her," Luke said.

Leia said quickly and bitterly, to both of them, "Not exactly."

Han stared at her for a moment, and the look in her eyes explained the rest. His gut twisted uncomfortably. "Should we call for a medic?"

"She doesn't want one." Her nostrils flared slightly, as if this topic had already been the subject of debate. "She says she fought him off before it got that far."

"Do you believe her?"

"Nagaian women are stronger than most human men." Leia rubbed her arms as though she were chilled. "I scanned her. Nothing is broken. But I gave her a dose of antibiotics and slipped in a conception blocker just in case." She looked over at Han. "She's resting now."

"Why come to you?" Luke asked.

"She's afraid that if Lusubrin or Shin Kai find out, they'll do something that will jeopardize the vote tomorrow."

His gut had twisted into a knot, watching Leia's slender frame and thinking of Ambassador Tion. Privately, he wished he had killed him. It was an effort to shrug and act casual. "She's right. You have a problem. And I hate to be the voice of reason, but they're going to notice she's missing if they haven't already."

"Yes, you're right. I should go to see them." Leia slouched wearily and rubbed at her forehead. "As soon as we figure out what to tell them and _who_ to talk to first, that is." Han arched an eyebrow and Leia went on to explain, "She and Shin Kai are having an affair. If Lusubrin finds out he'll challenge Shin Kai to a duel, and if Shin Kai were to win, he would usurp Lusubrin as their head delegate."

"Relationships," Han grumbled. "They used to be so much easier."

"Did you think our government had the monopoly on impossible relationships?" she asked, swiping a hand across her brow. "Han, you need to stay here today and look after her. When the medic stops by the afternoon see if she can check her out."

"What medic?"

"The one I made an appointment with while you were in the shower," she said quickly. "This must be another tactic to disrupt the vote. First the attack on Kerrithrarr, then your being shot, now _this_."

"So you think it's the same person who shot Han?"Luke asked.

"Yes. And I'm afraid something worse will happen tomorrow."

There was a clattering on the _Falcon's_ onramp as Shin Kai, the wild looking Nagaian entered.

"_Iri_," he began.

"She's here," Leia said. "And she needs you."


End file.
